Real Estate Assessments are Arriving

Charlottesville Area Real Estate Tax Assessments Are in the Mail

It's the beginning of the year and time again for the City of Charlottesville  and the surrounding counties to provide their citizenry with real estate assessments.  Locally, your real estate assessment is the value determined by a city or county's real estate assessor to be the fair market value of your property.  It is the value on which the city or county bases your real estate property taxes.  It's important that this value is fairly determined, so that a citizen pays their fair share of taxes.

Localities Differ in Tax Rate, Manner of Assessment, and the Appeals Process

ALBEMARLE COUNTY - assessments of properties are annually based on Fair Market Value.  As of January 2019, the real estate tax rate for Albemarle County is $0.839 per $100 of assessed value.  According to the Albemarle County website, values are determined as follows:

How are property values determined?
Residential properties are typically valued by the sales comparison approach. In this approach, sales of residential properties in Albemarle County are used to create a model that accounts for differences in quality, finish, amenities, size and style of improvements, as well as site influences such as view, topography and location. The model will determine the assessed value of all of the properties. This is referred to as Mass Appraisal and is the standard method for assessing properties throughout the Commonwealth.  (for further explanation, see this sheet of FAQ s)

You can Appeal the Assessor's Opinion of Value - the Deadline for submitting the initial form is February 28
From a 1-16-19 notice on the front of the County's webpage: There is a process in place to appeal disputed assessments. As a first step, taxpayers are encouraged to contact the Assessor's Office to ensure the correctness of County records and to receive an explanation of the basis of their property's valuation. If visiting the Assessor's Office, we highly recommend that citizens make an appointment to ensure that the appropriate staff member who can best explain the valuation of their specific property is available.

If a taxpayer desires to request an official internal review, they can submit a 2019 Administrative Review form, located on the County Assessor webpage, www.albemarle.org/assessor. This form can also be mailed, emailed or faxed upon request. The deadline to return this form is February 28, 2019. If a property owner is not satisfied by the official internal reviews outcome, they can request an appeal by the Board of Equalization (BOE), whose members are appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The BOE is comprised of Albemarle County citizens who have completed training by the Virginia Department of Taxation. All appeals to the Board of Equalization must be filed by March 29, 2019, or within 30 days of the date of the response letter for a previously requested 2019 Administrative Review.

THE CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE - Assessments of properties are annually based on Fair Market Value.  As of January 2019, the real estate tax rate for the City of Charlottesville is $0.95 per $100 of assessed value.  City FAQs here.

How does a property owner appeal an assessment in the City of Charlottesville?
Once the assessments are mailed, you as a property owner have 30 days to appeal the assessment. To
initiate this process, fill out an Assessment Appeal Application and file it with our office by mail or in person
at the City Assessor's Office in City Hall (Rm. 320). You may speak to an appraiser, review the data
used in computing the assessment and, if necessary, schedule an inspection of the property.
After this, should a dispute still exist, you may appeal to the Board of Equalization. The three-person board,
appointed by the Circuit Court, is composed of City property owners. The board may affirm, reduce or raise
the assessment, if in their opinion such adjustments are necessary to equalize the tax burden upon all
citizens in the City. If you are dissatisfied with the Board's decision, you may appeal to the Circuit Court.
To read a more detailed description of the appeals process, please click here or select the Appeals Process
page from the navigation menu at the left of this screen.  Detailed Process for Appeal here.

If you have Real Estate Assessment questions:  you can call us at 434-970-3136 or stop by the Assessor's Office in City Hall Room 320 on the third floor located at the east end of the Downtown Mall.  Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

FLUVANNA COUNTY - assessments of properties are annually based on Fair Market Value.  As of January 2019, the real estate tax rate for the Fluvanna County is $0.939 per $100 of assessed value.  According to a notice on the Fluvanna County website...

 

If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Charlottesville area, please allow me the opportunity to help you put the pieces together.  Virginia Gardner, Roy Wheeler Realty Co., (434) 981-0871 Email Virginia